So we saw Janet Jackson’s boob. Big deal. I mean, it could have been worse. We could have seen Michael Jackson.
I don’t understand why everyone is making such a big deal of what happened. It’s not like she came out doing topless jumping jacks.
Super Bowl XXXVIII was arguably one of the best Super Bowls ever, and all people can talk about is boobs. I can just imagine some of the conversations people had at work on Monday.
“Tom Brady had a great game, but did you see the boobs at halftime?”
“Yes, the game had an amazing finish, but didn’t you see the one boob for one second at halftime?”
“This year’s Super Bowl was so great, not only did I get to watch the Lingerie Bowl at halftime, but I TiVo’d the real halftime and I’ve watched that boob come out 12 times.”
On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission chairman ordered an investigation of the “incident.” He said he was “convinced someone had a prior knowledge of what happened,” and that “she probably got what she was looking for.”
Well, of course.
You think having 140 million people watching your every move for 20 minutes isn’t a good opportunity for you to get some publicity? There are more people talking about Janet Jackson today than there are adjectives to describe her.
If anything, give her a little credit. She knew what she was doing. Remember the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”
And how about Justin Timberlake helping himself to a cookie from the cookie jar? There hasn’t been a guy that lucky since the cover shoot for her “Janet” album.
The NFL commissioner even got in a few jabs against Jackson saying her show was “offensive, inappropriate and embarrassing for the NFL and its fans.” Uh, yeah, I’m sure a lot of the NFL’s “fans” were upset with the halftime show. You know how all of the “fans” wish the cheerleaders weren’t there either.
This isn’t a case of being moralistic or a case of right from wrong. It’s a case of America’s everlasting paranoia of nudity and sexuality. You can protest and carry signs bearing slogans and messages more derogatory than Andrew Dice Clay, but you can’t bare it all when you go to the beach. C’mon, who wants tan lines?
You can show a murder or hate crime every 90 seconds on TV, but if you show one second of boob you’re under investigation.
Rumor has it, as you read this there is legislation in the House that would mandate keeping your underwear on when you go to the bathroom. You never know who might walk in, you know.
In all seriousness, the uproar is unnecessary. The main beef the public has is that the display was inappropriate for children. I agree children should be protected from viewing nudity and material that is sexual in nature, but what about the shows on TV every day?
You can’t turn on MTV or BET without seeing a video called “Captain Butt-Lover,” “Girl, I Like Them Boobs,” or “Five Minutes of T & A.” And let’s not forget about The Howard Stern Show, every other show on E!, 90 percent of the shows on FX and every reality show that has ever been on TV. You can even get your daily news from naked women if you want.
Many parents would argue most of the shows I’ve mentioned are on past their children’s bedtimes. Well yeah, but you think the kids these days don’t know how to work the TV in their room past 9:30 p.m.? They know what’s going down late at night.
Now I’m not saying there should be nudity on TV, and I’m definitely not saying kids should be allowed to see naked adults. But when the weekends are over and Monday mornings roll around, if the most tragic stories in the papers are about boobs, I’d say it was a pretty good weekend.
Erik Bussa is a senior in agricultural communications. He can be reached at [email protected].
